I was hust wondering how much team recognition you guys all get from your schools (letter jackets) or are you guys “just another club”. I was wondering b/c some peeps on my team feel we are not recognized
Where’s the poll!?!
Our school doesnt treat our eam too well and gives us the littlest ammount of help possible all they do for us is give us a room to work in. There is really only one staff member who supports us and thats our teacher “Canova”. The only reason we get a yearbook page is becuase im the editor. We have to buy almost all of our own equipment, and we can only work untill 9:00 on weekdays and 4:00 on saturdays. The school doesnt provide us with transportation to the regional (its only 30 mins away)and they give us weeks of trouble about going to nationals. Its sad really becuase the school has no clue what we really get out of the program, it has been the most fufilling part of my Highschool education.
Yea, so dont feel as though your the only ones who are not recognized heh…
On the other hand I know of schools who have robotics pep-ralleys where over 10% of their school(s) students are active participants in the FIRST program.
There really is great diversity when it comes to how each school takes the program.
We just got recognized as an offical club by my school this year. & this is the team’s fifth year. We don’t gte money or anything but possibly fingers crossed the absences will be counted as excused. Last year, our principal refused to run an announcement congratulating us on how well we did at regionals cuz she said the team didn’t cater to those who weren’t willing to invest a lot of time in it. = P Oh well. We take students from any school so it doesn’t matter whether she likes us or not.
Don’t worry about it, same back here. We do all these demos, and have flyers, and trophy cases, and everything else, but not many people even know, let alone care. It’s ok though, one day FIRST WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
and what will we do the next night brain?
THE SAME AS WE DO EVERY NIGHT PINKY, TAKE OVER THE WORLD, again. . .
As if it were to make me feel any better, it was once described as this . . .
“Our school has horrible jocks, but good geeks. No one really cares though”
We get varsity letters, two pages in the yearbook, we drive the robots at sports pep rallies, and all of our trophies we’ve ever won are in the main office. I guess we’re lucky!
Well we did get a spread in the year book but only cuz the journalism teeacher this yera is new & I kidded a lot of @$$. The yearbook editor being on the team didn’t hurt either. Come to think of it, she’s also newspaper editor. She put us on the front page, right above the football team. 
We get a 2-page spread in our yearbook and some articles in our school paper. We get a spot in the elective faire every year in order to recruit people (robotics at our school started as a club, and is now a class so that members can prep for build and all that jazz), and um… the school lets us put up pretty posters to get people to apply even though we ask to do it after everyone’s turned in their schedule forms for next year? 
And most teachers like us, so that’s cool. Then again, it’s sort of hard not to notice the team when everyone’s walking around w/bright red hair.
We go to a private school. Our School really, for the most part, tried to act like we didn’t exist until they saw the bot and heard that we won Rookie All Star. After that they realized that we are good, smart kids that did a ton of work, and that it would be a selling point for the school that we have this awesome robot team. Now they’re all like “Go robot!”
Every student we talk to about what we did is like "Woooooow . . . " It’s only the administration tha’ts like “eh.” Shrug
We on Team 1097 make it a point to refer to ourselves as a TEAM, so at least in our own minds we are classified differently from an average recreational school club, which is basically what our school saw us as until our recent performance at Sacramento.
There wasn’t much enthusiasm about robotics during our rookie year, especially because our school takes so much pride in its reputation for athletics. It seems like most schools want to see solid results, either in placement or awards, before they’ll consider more support for a FIRST team, but judging from previous posts, I guess even solid veteran teams have a hard time getting recognition.
It’s quite surprising how narrow-minded some people can be, but I’ve come to believe that changing stubborn minds and generating enthusiasm for your team is part of the FIRST experience.
You got that right Harry. Now maybe we can get our awards in the case and a banner on the gym wall next to the 2 hundred other championship banners… 
We got one and a half yearbook pages (we paid $250 for the extra page on the yearbook) and some recognition on the annoucements. We also got $250 support from the SAC (student activity council). We got 4 buses of spectators going to see us at the Canadian Regional (288 people roughly). Our team is off to a slow start this rookie year, but I’m hoping the exposure we get from the spectators will make the difference.
We did get a photo in the yearbook this year, I’m unsure of other years. At best it would be half a page. Since we were one of the winners of the 2004 New Jersey regional (see my sig) the school board also gave out cirtificates to the students on our team. Our banners from all the comps we won were hanging in the gym but only one is left now from 2002. All the others were “stolen”.
We don’t really get much attention from the students, but the assistant principal and the superintendant have come and watched us practice and the superintendent even came to the regional. This year they’re going to let us take the practice field up on the stage and demonstrate what the robot had to do, and show the powerpoints that we’re working on so they can see actual pictures and video from the competition.
Most kids are just tired of us wearing our team shirts all the time, even though its only on Fridays.
At my alma mater which as one of many active schools on the team, we were never truely thought of as a school club or organization. In the beginning students nor factulty knew the team existed. However, as time passed while I was in high school we tried to spread the word. Members of the team had close friends on the newspaper staff and we tried to at least be known. We had (two that I recall) “walk-throughs” which athletes get when they qualify for states; one which was when the team left for Nationals 2002, and one was when we won Ramp Riot 2002.
On a side note: the thing that bothered me the most was when we started to bring in awards. We had a great idea, that for one week school A would display them, and then they would travel to school B, and so on. This worked out perfectly right till the end of the year. However, my school would not display them in one of their numerous cases, and would not be responsiable for them being on display in the office. :rolleyes:
until now, my team has had next to no recognition whatsoever save for that of other robotics teams and our sponsors… and the occasional boston comedian we bribe to come to our town for a fundraiser
We have a fair-weather school… they give us barely any money but when we won chairmans and our mentor won woodie flowers:
- We got a seperate announcement during First period
- We all got notes of congratulations personally signed by the principle
- They are displaying OUR trophies in the main office
I really hope they keep the good attitude about the team… maybe they will think about giving us more money next year…
We have the letter system but only because I made up the requirments and we pay for all the badges etc… We are in the yearbook cause one of our members is the editor, We have been in the school newspaper because one of our advisors is the head advisor for the newspaper. We were presently suprised when our principal came for a half an hour to watch our regional, but we dont get money from the school and about the least amount from the booster club… But hey they let us work on campus so its all good
Nate
we are so losely attached with our school its kinda sad haha… even from going to nat’s finals in 2002, (the year i was a freshman and was intrgiued) and even from being on the Today show a few times, we are just another club for the few people who are dedicated and want to become someting in the enginnering field
Fady, you are kidding me!.. 288 people from your school going to the CR?!? thats incredible!!.. all the more reason why CR is the premier regional this year. dont worry, you guys have been doing incredible for a rookie team, and im sure the super school support i always see and hear about at ACI will come through at CR. Seriously cant wait
as for WCI, we get money from the SAC as well, and a yearbook page as well. We have no letters or varsity jackets etc…and its kind of just another club at WCI. heheh